Spouse Still in the Unit After the Tenant Left Owing Rent? The N14, One Step at a Time

The N14 is an Ontario Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) notice for one narrow situation. A tenant has gone, owing rent, without serving or receiving a termination notice and without signing anything to end the tenancy, and the tenant's spouse is still living there. For the landlord, it is the only tool that puts a deadline on the spouse's decision. For the spouse, it is a choice: within 15 days, say you are staying and sign a written promise to cover the arrears, and the tenancy is yours; ignore it, and you risk being treated as an unauthorized occupant. The landlord must give it within 45 days of the tenant's departure.

Quick summary

How a spouse can inherit a tenancy

Under s. 3(2) of O. Reg. 516/06, the word "tenant" can reach a spouse. It does when the real tenant walked away with no notice and no agreement to end things, and the spouse lives in the unit as their principal residence. Subsection 3(3) lists the cases where that does not happen; paragraph 4 of it mentions a "form approved by the Board"; the N14 is that form.

In practice: where the tenant left arrears behind and an N14 reaches the spouse inside the 45 days, the spouse becomes the tenant only by doing two things inside 15 days of receiving it:

1. telling the landlord that they plan to stay; and
2. putting in writing that they will pay what the tenant owed.

Do both, and the spouse carries on under the same agreement, paying the same rent. The form spells this out.

Who is a "spouse"? Under RTA s. 2(1): the tenant's husband or wife, or a conjugal partner who meets one of three tests: twelve months or more living together, a child the two of them parent together, or a signed cohabitation agreement.

Before you serve: a yes/no checklist

Page 1 of the form requires a "yes" to every line:

• [ ] Rent is owing from the departed tenant.
• [ ] The departed tenant's spouse still lives there.
• [ ] Nobody served a termination notice (tenant or landlord), and the tenant never agreed to leave.

Pick a different path if:

• It's a small building (three units or fewer) and you live there. Here s. 3(3)1 means the spouse needs your consent before taking over, and the form itself rules out an N14.
• Nothing was owing. Then s. 3(3)3 governs: the spouse becomes the tenant unless, they let an order issue on an RTA s. 100 application without first telling you they are staying. Use an A2.
• More than 45 days have passed. A late N14 starts no clock (s. 3(3)5). The spouse keeps the ability to take over, right up to the order, by telling you they are staying and signing a promise to pay the arrears. Use an A2.
• Unsure the occupant qualifies as a spouse? The form allows you to bypass the N14 and file an A2; a hearing will sort it out.
• The spouse is gone within 60 days of the tenant leaving. No tenancy passes to them (s. 3(3)2); you need do nothing further.
• The tenant did give notice, or signed an agreement to terminate. Section 3(2) is out of the picture. Where that leaves the occupant turns on the facts; no LTB guidance says whether the answer is an L3 or an A2. Take advice first.

The clocks, with an example

Landlord: 45 days. Section 3(3)4 of the regulation sets 45 days from the date of vacating; the form measures from the date "you believe" the tenant left. Paragraph 21 of s. 56 bars the LTB from extending it.

Spouse: 15 days. These run from receipt. Anything mailed counts as received on the fifth day after it is sent (RTA s. 191(3)), and the 15 days start from that day. No extension is possible here either.

Counting rules. Skip the starting day, include the final one (Rule 1.13). A last day that lands when the LTB is closed rolls forward until the LTB reopens (Rule 1.14).

Then the A2. The A2 instructions require an unauthorized-occupant application no later than 60 days after the landlord discovers the occupant (RTA s. 100(2)). For N14 files, the LTB has not said whether that discovery date is when you learned the tenant left or when the spouse's 15 days expired. Play safe: assume the earlier one, and file promptly once the 15 days are over.

Worked example. You think the tenant left on Monday, May 3, 2027. Leaving out May 3, the 45th day is Thursday, June 17, 2027, your last day to give the N14. You mail it on Friday, June 4. Receipt is deemed on Wednesday, June 9 (the fifth day after mailing), so the spouse has until Thursday, June 24. Had you handed it over in person on June 4, day 15 would be Saturday, June 19; the LTB is closed that day, so the deadline becomes Monday, June 21.

Filling in the N14, step by step

Version 01/04/2022 is current. Its first page is an information sheet for landlords; next comes the notice, then the spouse's reply sheet.

Part 1: the notice

1. The "To" box. It says "Tenant's name", but this is where the spouse goes, at the unit's address. If you don't know their name, write "Unknown".
2. The "From" box. You, with a full mailing address.
3. Rental unit address. Street, unit number, municipality, postal code.
4. The departed tenant's name, in the line beginning "The tenant of the unit above".
5. The arrears line. Rent only, up to the last day of a rental period you name (dd/mm/yyyy). No damage claims, utilities, NSF charges or other extras. The spouse is only signing up for rent "lawfully owing", so calculate it from the lawful rent.
6. The move-out date line. Your genuine best guess. Since it starts your 45 days, keep it consistent with your own records.
7. Current rent. The lawful figure, plus the period it covers (a month, a week or a day).
8. When rent is next due.

Leave every printed explanation untouched.

Part 2: signing

• Whoever signs shades Landlord or Representative, prints a name and phone number, then signs and dates.
• Representatives add their own details. On this version, the licence box still says "LSUC #".

Part 3: the spouse's reply page

The final page belongs to the spouse. Fill in just your name and the unit address, and staple it to the notice when you serve, because the notice instructs the spouse to sign and return it inside 15 days.

Serving the N14

Use any method permitted by Rule 3.1 or RTA s. 191:

1. personal delivery to the spouse, or to any adult at the unit;
2. the mailbox or usual mail slot;
3. under the door;
4. mail or courier; or
5. email, but only where the spouse has already consented in writing.

Make a note of the date and method. Should you file an A2, you must prove when the spouse got the N14, since that fixes the 15 days. Hold on to any reply too; the form asks a signing spouse to keep a copy, and you should keep one as well.

For the spouse who receives an N14

If you are the person still living in the unit:

1. Write down when it arrived. If mailed, your 15 days begin on the fifth day after mailing.
2. Decide if you want to stay. Staying means stepping into the same agreement at the same rent. A new lease, higher rent or new deposit cannot be made a condition.
3. To stay, do two things within the 15 days: tell the landlord, and sign and return the attached agreement to pay. Keep a copy.
4. Check the figure. Only rent lawfully owing is covered, not damage, utilities or fees.
5. If you don't respond, the landlord may file an A2 to remove you as an unauthorized occupant. Even so, no lockout or removal of your things can happen without an LTB order that the Sheriff enforces.

Errors that sink an N14

1. Serving it after day 45. No 15-day clock ever starts; the spouse can claim the tenancy right up to an order (s. 3(3)5), and an A2 built on that N14 fails.
2. No rent owing. The preconditions are missing. The spouse takes over unless an order is made before they ever say they are staying.
3. Small building, landlord in residence. With three units or fewer and you living there, the spouse never had a right to stay, so the N14 does not belong.
4. A notice was given or received, or an N11 signed. The tenant did not leave "without" these, so the premise fails.
5. Padding the arrears. Extra charges or a wrong total let the spouse say they were misled, and the number collapses in any later N4/L1. The agreement only covers rent "lawfully owing".
6. Counting from the mailing date. Mail is deemed received five days later. Filing the A2 before the spouse's true deadline is too early.
7. Refusing a spouse who answered in time. They are the tenant now, on the same terms. Insisting on a new lease, more rent or another deposit has no basis in the regulation or the form.
8. Self-help eviction. Changing locks or clearing out belongings is off limits. Only an A2 order, carried out by the Sheriff, can remove the spouse.

Where things go from here

• The spouse signed and returned the page in time. They are your tenant. If the arrears go unpaid, the usual route applies: an N4, then an L1 if it comes to that. The N14 already warned them.
• No reply, and the spouse is still in the unit. Apply on an A2, Reason 1 (tenancy transferred without consent). If they remain in possession on the filing date, you may also claim daily compensation while they stay. Fee: $201. Nothing is ordered until the LTB holds a hearing.
• The spouse leaves. The tenancy has ended. Go after the arrears from the former tenant, for instance on an L10, the former-tenant arrears application.

Frequently asked questions

In plain terms, what is the N14 for?

It starts a 15-day decision window for the spouse left behind by a tenant who owed rent. To keep the home, the spouse says they are staying and signs a written promise to pay the arrears; otherwise the landlord may apply on an A2.

How long does a landlord have to give it?

45 days from the date they believe the tenant left. After that, it cannot start the 15 days, and the spouse can take over by agreeing to pay at any time until an order issues.

As the spouse, will I have to sign a new lease?

No. Once you sign the agreement you become the tenant under the existing agreement, and the rent stays where it was.

What if the landlord doesn't know the spouse's name?

"Unknown" is acceptable on the form. If it is doubtful that the person there is even a spouse, the landlord may skip the N14 and let the LTB decide on an A2.

Does the N14 work in a duplex the landlord lives in?

No. In a building with three units or fewer where the landlord also lives, taking over needs the landlord's agreement, so the form says not to use an N14.

Official sources

• N14 form (PDF)
• A2 Instructions
• Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, ss. 2, 100 and 191
• O. Reg. 516/06 (General), ss. 3 and 56
• LTB Rules of Procedure
• LTB Forms, filing and fees

Last reviewed October 31, 2026. General information, not legal advice for your situation. Always use the current version of the form from the LTB.